Source: @norml @WeedConnection
Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com
media :: news - Tue, 20 Jan 2015 04:20:21 PST
District Officials Move Forward With Municipal Depenalization Initiative
Washington, DC: District of Columbia city officials moved forward this week with plans to implement a voter-approved municipal initiative depenalizing marijuana possession and cultivation offenses.
On Tuesday, city officials confirmed that Initiative 71 was transmitted to Congress for review. Under federal law, all District laws are subject to a 30-day review process by Congress, during which time members may take action to halt the law's implementation.
Speaking to Roll Call this week, House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said that language previously adopted by Congress in a December 2014 spending bill already prohibits DC officials from implementing I-71 and, thus, no further action by Congress is necessary. However, several District officials - including DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson - said that the federal provision in question in no way blocks city officials from enacting the new law.
"The District's examination agrees with our analysis that the initiative was enacted when voters approved it and will take effect at the end of the 30-day congressional review period," Del. Norton said in a statement Tuesday.
Chairman Mendelson agreed, saying, "I happen to believe that the initiative was enacted so I think there's no question that after the 30-day review it will be law."
The District of Columbia Attorney General's office has not yet commented in regard to how the District will respond if Congress does not address the initiative during the review process, Roll Call reported.
In November, 70 percent of District voters approved I-71, which removes criminal and civil penalties regarding the adult possession of up to two ounces of cannabis and/or the cultivation of up to six plants.
Separate DC municipal legislation - 'The Marijuana Legalization and regulation Act' - which seeks to regulate commercial cannabis production and retail sales, is also pending before the Council. If enacted, this legislation would also go before lawmakers for Congressional review.
Study: Long Term Cannabis Exposure 'Not Associated With Significant Effects On Lung Function'
"[T]he pattern of marijuana's effects seems to be distinctly different when compared to that of tobacco use," study says
Atlanta, GA: The inhalation of one marijuana cigarette per day over a 20-year period is not associated with adverse changes in lung health, according to data published online ahead of print in the journal Annals of the American Thoracic Society.
Investigators at Emory University in Atlanta assessed marijuana smoke exposure and lung health in a large representative sample of US adults age 18 to 59. Researchers reported that cannabis exposure was not associated with FEV1 (forced expiratory volume) decline or deleterious change in spirometric values of small airways disease.
Authors further reported that marijuana smoke exposure may be associated with some protective lung effects among long-term smokers of tobacco. Investigators acknowledged, "[T]he pattern of marijuana's effects seems to be distinctly different when compared to that of tobacco use."
Researchers also acknowledged that habitual cannabis consumers were more likely to self-report increased symptoms of bronchitis, a finding that is consistent with previous literature. Separate studies indicate that subjects who vaporize cannabis report fewer adverse respiratory symptoms than do those who inhale combustive marijuana smoke.
Authors concluded, "[I]n a large representative sample of US adults, ongoing use of marijuana is associated with increased respiratory symptoms of bronchitis without a significant functional abnormality in spirometry and cumulative marijuana use under 20 joint-years is not associated with significant effects on lung function.
This study is the largest cross-sectional analysis to date examining the relationship between marijuana use and spirometric parameters of lung health.
A separate study published in 2012 in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) similarly reported that cumulative marijuana smoke exposure over a period of up to 7 joint-years (the equivalent of up to one marijuana cigarette per day for seven years) was not associated with adverse effects on pulmonary function.
A 2013 review also published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society acknowledged that marijuana smoke exposure was not positively associated with the development of lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema, or bullous lung disease. It concluded: "[H]abitual use of marijuana alone does not appear to lead to significant abnormalities in lung function. Findings from a limited number of well-designed epidemiological studies do not suggest an increased risk of either lung or upper airway cancer from light or moderate use. ... Overall, the risks of pulmonary complications of regular use of marijuana appear to be relatively small and far lower than those of tobacco smoking."
Full text of the paper, "Effects of marijuana exposure on expiratory airflow: A study of adults who participated in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Study," will appear in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.
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